


The Bet

by just_jilyy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bets & Wagers, F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 05:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18866842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_jilyy/pseuds/just_jilyy
Summary: In which Lily Evans takes a bet regarding one James Potter and a broomstick.





	The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this story when I was 15, and honestly I'm still pretty proud of it. Who doesn't love silly Jily?

"You're really going to go through with this Lily?" Alice asked, her voiced tinged with doubt.

  
"We made a bet, did we not?" Lily asked, looking at Alice's reflection standing behind her in the mirror as she coated her lashes with mascara.

  
"Well yes, but I was only kidding when I said it."

  
Lily grinned. "A bet is a bet, Alice."

  
"Alice," Marlene spoke up from her perch on her bed. "We both know that Lily has a bit of a competitive side."

  
"Oh fine," Alice sighed. "What are the stakes?"

  
"A sickle from each of us if she wins, and a sickle for each of us if she loses." Marlene said as she rolled off the side of the bed and into a standing position.

  
"Why not make it a galleon?" Lily asked as she coated her lips in a shimmery gloss.

  
"Feeling confident, are we?"

  
"Always." Lily replied with a smirk.

Alice rolled her eyes and Marlene laughed.

  
"Well, I hate to leave you two, but I've got to get down to the pitch. Don't want to be late for practice, Potter'll rip my head off." Marlene said, smoothing her practice robes before grabbing her broom and making her way to the door of the dormitory.

  
"We'll see you down there in a bit." Lily said, standing to look at her appearance in the full-length mirror that hung against the wall. She shook out her long hair, pleased with the way it lay in soft waves around her face and shoulders. The mascara she had used made her lashes look thick and dark, and the contrast of the black against her creamy skin made her eyes look even bigger and brighter. Her cream sweater draped her body perfectly, molding to every curve, and her favorite pair of jeans fit her body like a second skin. She tucked her wand into her knee-high black riding boots and turned to face Alice.

  
"Ready?"

  
Alice merely nodded, resigned to the fact that she had gotten herself into a bet that she hadn't meant to make.

  
All the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were down on the pitch by the time Lily and Alice took their seats in the stands. Despite her love for the game Lily had never watched a practice—though she never missed a game—and her presence at the pitch was noted by everyone almost immediately.Lily spotted the head of messy black hair instantly, as it was rather hard to miss, and studied him. Potter seemed to be a good captain, at least. He had the attention of every member, even Marlene, whose attention tended to wander.

Lily watched as he waved his arm, and everyone broke off from the group to mount their brooms and take practice laps around the pitch. Marlene waved to them before mounting her broom and taking off, and Sirius, who had been watching Marlene, looked up and grinned. Lily bit back a laugh as Sirius jogged over to James and hit him, then point up to where she was sitting.

  
"You ready?" Lily smirked, watching as James turned and locked eyes with her, surprise evident on his face.

  
"Oh Merlin," was Alice's only response.

  
Lily smiled, still holding eye contact with James, and raised her hand in a playfully flirty wave. Again, she stifled a laugh as his face went red and he waved back quickly, a confused look on his face, before he mounted his broom and went zooming off around the pitch.

  
"This is going to be too easy."

  
Lily sat back in her seat and watched the practice. She found she rather enjoyed watching it. There was a peacefulness to it. The games were brilliant, but there were also the mad crowds and obnoxious opposing teams. But here, now, watching the players practice and run plays, she was able to take in the gracefulness of the sport. And she couldn't deny that James was rather amazing on the pitch. He was a true captain, and he worked himself just as hard as he worked his team.That didn't change the fact that she had a bet to win.

  
Halfway through the practice she stopped paying attention to the other players and trained her eyes on James. She caught him glancing at her every now and then, but he always looked away too quickly.

  
"Damn." Lily muttered under her breath after James looked away before she could do what she was supposed to be doing.

  
Alice laughed. "Harder than you thought it would be Lily?"

  
"Oh, shut up. I'll win this bet, just you wait and see." Lily said, a determined look on her face as she stood up and leaned against the wooden railing that kept students from falling onto the pitch.

  
James flew nearer to her as he watched the other team members run a play, and she saw her chance. It was straying from the origins of the bet a little, but it was all semantics in the end.

  
"James!" Lily called, waving him over to her.

  
He startled, and she giggled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and watching him as he flew over to her.

  
"Hello Lily." James said, his voice tinged with confusion and surprise. She couldn't help but notice that he looked pleased that she had called him over, and she felt a little bad about how awful she was to him normally.

  
"Hi." She replied, making her voice sound a little breathier than normal. "You look great out there."

  
James's eyes widened as he looked at her. She batted her eyelashes at him, smiling coyly and twirling that strand of hair around her finger.

  
"Er…um…thank you?" His cheeks were pink, and Lily bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.

  
"Well, I just wanted to tell you that." She said, an innocent smile on her face as she looked at him through her eyelashes.

  
"Oh…okay." James said. He cleared his throat. "I should, er…, I should get back to practice then."

  
"Right. Sorry. I'll just be over here then." Lily giggled, mentally rolling her eyes at herself.

  
James nodded and took off on his broom, but Lily noticed that he looked back at her more often that he had before.

  
"Oh, you cheater." Alice said, joining Lily at her perch against the railing.

  
"You never said I couldn't talk to him." Lily argued, keeping her eyes on James, a slight smile on her face.

  
Alice rolled her eyes but didn't argue any further.

  
Lily continued to watch the practice, and James, and he continued to look back at her every couple minutes. As the hour passed, Lily knew she had to take her chance in order to win. When James flew near to her again, Lily saw her opening and batted her eyes at him the way she had seen so many girls do in muggle films. James's broom wobbled as he turned his attention from flying to Lily. Pushing back the newfound reluctance, Lily parted her lips, brought her hand up to her mouth, and blew James Potter a kiss.

  
His eyes went wide, and he forgot about his broom completely. Lily winced as he fell, and she was eternally thankful that he had been only a few feet from the ground when it happened.

  
Alice turned to Lily, her eyes wide. "Godric, I didn't think you could actually do it."

  
"I told you not to doubt me." Lily shrugged, but a part of her still felt guilty. James was probably embarrassed, and it was her fault.

  
Marlene flew up to them then, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. "Damn, that was hilarious."

  
Lily held her hand out expectantly, an almost grin on her face. Marlene dug in her robes for a second, then tossed a galleon into Lily's outstretch palm. Alice slapped another galleon into Lily's hand, a grim smile on her face before she couldn't help it and she burst out laughing.

Lily couldn't help but laugh as well as she tucked the two galleons into the front pocket of her jeans. She looked over the railing to see James standing up and brushing himself off, his cheeks red from embarrassment. At least he wasn't hurt.  
A bark of laughter brought Lily out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Sirius hovering next to Marlene.

  
"You birds are scandalous." He grinned. "I love it."

  
Lily turned away from the pitch. "I think I'm going to head back up to the castle."

  
Marlene nodded. "I've got to finish up with practice. See you at dinner."

  
"You want me to come with you?" Alice asked.

  
Lily shook her head. "You stay."

  
Alice nodded and sat back down to watch the rest of the practice.

  
Lily made her way back to the castle, her pockets two galleons heavier, and her thoughts weighed down with thoughts of James Potter.


End file.
